OTTAWA -Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray announced today that head coach Paul MacLean has signed a three-year contract extension.

MacLean completed his second season as Senators head coach in 2012-13 after being named to the position on June 14, 2011. MacLean guided the Senators to a 25-17-6 record this past season and a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite the extended absence of several key players due to injury. The youthful Senators lineup included a National Hockey League-high 14 rookies who played in at least one game. In the playoffs, the seventh-seeded Senators defeated the second-seeded Montreal Canadiens in five games in the first round before falling in five games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference semifinals.

Following the season, MacLean was named the Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. This was MacLean’s second consecutive year as a finalist for the award, after placing third in 2011-12 voting, his rookie season as an NHL head coach. MacLean became only the second Ottawa Senators coach to win the Jack Adams Award, joining Jacques Martin, who won in 1999.

“In two years, Paul has made a significant impact on the entire franchise, both on and off the ice,” said Senators general manager Bryan Murray. “We feel that under Paul’s direction we have been able to develop into a team that is competitive each and every night and we are confident that he is the person we want behind the bench to lead us to our goal of being a championship level team.”

In his first season with the club, MacLean led the Senators to a 41-31-10 record and a return to post-season play, where the team was defeated in seven games by the No. 1 seed New York Rangers in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series. MacLean made his NHL head coaching debut on Oct. 7, 2011, in Detroit and won his first game as a head coach in the Senators’ home opening-victory against Minnesota on Oct. 11.

In two years with the Senators, MacLean has compiled a record of 66-48-16 (.592 winning percentage) in 130 regular-season games.

"Paul represents what we want to become as both a hockey club and as a franchise," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. "He is a hard-working coach and an outstanding teacher and mentor of the game. Paul’s ability to communicate openly and honestly with our players and prospects has been key to our on-ice success. He came to us with a history of winning and has instilled that same winning mindset with our players and our coaching staff. I am very pleased and proud to extend Paul’s contract and look forward to his many future contributions to our team and to our city.”

Prior to joining Ottawa, he spent six seasons as an assistant coach to Mike Babcock with the Detroit Red Wings, making two appearances in the Stanley Cup final, winning in six games over the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and losing in seven games to Pittsburgh in 2009. Before his time with Detroit, MacLean was hired in 2002 by Murray, who was then the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim’s general manager. MacLean spent two seasons as an assistant to Babcock, the Mighty Ducks’ head coach at that time. In his first season in Anaheim, the club made its first Stanley Cup final appearance.

Prior to the joining the Anaheim coaching staff in 2002, MacLean, who was born in Grostenquin, France, but grew up in Antigonish, N.S., was head coach of the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League (UHL) from 2000-02. MacLean led the Mallards to a two-season record of 112-27-9 (.787) and the 2001 Colonial Cup championship.

MacLean was the head coach of the International Hockey League’s (IHL) Kansas City Blades from 1997 to 2000. He spent one season as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996-97 and was head coach at Peoria (IHL) from 1993 to 1996. While with Peoria, MacLean was named the Hockey News Minor League Coach of the Year in 1994 after leading the Rivermen to a 51-24-6 mark and a division title. He was also a scout with the St. Louis Blues for two seasons from 1991 to 1993.

MacLean spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League as a forward with St. Louis, the Winnipeg Jets and Detroit from 1980-81 to 1990-91. He played in 719 NHL regular season games, scoring 324 goals and adding 349 assists for 673 points. He recorded eight seasons of scoring 30 or more goals. He also appeared in 53 playoff games, scoring 21 goals and 35 points. MacLean set career highs in goals (41) and points (101) during the 1984-85 season with Winnipeg and was named to the Campbell Conference All-Star Team. MacLean also represented Canada internationally at the 1980 Winter Olympics, held in Lake Placid, N.Y.

MacLean spends the off-season in Nova Scotia with his wife, Sharon. They have one daughter, Erin, and two sons, A.J. and David.